You put so much money into your car, you hate to see it lose its luster. The sun can damage both the interior and exterior of your car. Keeping your car in a garage or covered with a car cover can help prevent this damage, but your car will be out on the road and in parking lots as well. So here are some tips to help protect your car while you’re out and about.
UV rays can break down your car’s paint, leading to fading or peeling over the years, so you’ll want to protect the car’s exterior. Auto paints have a UV protection coating contained within them, but these can fail over time. To help preserve your car’s paint, you can try and avoid direct sun by parking in the shade or in a covered parking garage. A regular wash and wax on your car will also help preserve the paint. Washing it will remove the abrasive elements and waxing will provide your car with an extra protective coating. We recommend washing once a week, and waxing every 3 months.
To protect your interior, consider using a sun shield. These accordion-like products will help direct the sun rays away from your car. A sun shield can protect your dashboard from getting blasted by sun rays all day and causing potential damage by eventually drying and peeling. You can also use dashboard protecting cleaning products as well that include UV protection. They also have the added benefit of keeping your car cooler on the interior, and you can find some really fun designed ones online. We’re partial to the one with a photo of the Millenium Falcon crew.
The sun can also damage both leather and cloth car seats, causing fading and cracking over time. You can use a leather seat cleaning product that will help prevent sun damage and cracking. Apply this product at least once a year. Consider using a car cover on cloth seating to keep them from fading from the sun. And again, using a sun shield, parking in a covered garage or in the shade will help preserve your interior as well.
Keep your car looking like new with some of these sun protecting tips. If you are looking to repair damage, give us a call at Oakdale Collision today!